


A Star Eclipsed, A Star Reborn

by ThatScottishShipper



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Clones, Coma, Don’t post to another site, During Canon, Episode Related, Exes, Grief/Mourning, Heartbreak, M/M, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining, Near Death, Pre-Kerberos Mission, Regret, Sheith Angst Week 2019, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-04 21:56:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20478104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatScottishShipper/pseuds/ThatScottishShipper
Summary: As Shiro remains in a coma, strong emotions and feelings resonate between Shiro and Keith as they pray for his recovery.A multi chapter fic written for Sheith Angst Week 2019. Set during A Little Adventure.





	1. Ex-Lovers

In the cloudy haze of his memory, Shiro saw Adam again.

Those deep brown eyes behind spectacles, crystal clear in the dark recesses of his mind. He still remembered the sound of a small cup clinking against a saucer, followed by those words that served to haunt him in the years ahead.

_ Takashi. _

_ How important am I to you? _

Shiro’s heart ached.

In the past, his heart belonged wholeheartedly to Adam, his proposed future with the man he loved proved by matching rings and the strongest commitment to be by his side.

For a time, Adam was his future, or rather, what was left of it.

Ready to stand by him, come what may, knowing the difficulties that came with his illness…

Nevertheless, they parted, torn apart by Shiro’s stubbornness to soar to the stars, and Adam’s struggle to watch the man he loved place himself in danger one time too many. 

_ Takashi. How important am I to you? _

Shiro left for Kerberos, and Adam was gone from his life.

Sometimes, he wondered if things would always be that way. He found a family in space, but his heart still felt empty, and the guilt always resided there, swallowing him up from the inside.

Not that anyone ever caught on. At least, he did not think so.

As the darker thoughts rolled in, Shiro reminisced of another he nearly lost to his assumed failures.

The person who never gave up on him, who waited for his return to Earth, then journeyed the galaxy with him.

The young man who almost freefalled to his death, dooming the entire universe to destruction, to save a little piece of himself.

Ensnared in the Quintessence purity of the Black Lion, Shiro has watched with horror as Keith grew painfully close to his clone, only to dance with death with the being that bore his face.

Why did he always hurt the ones he loved?

It had taken everything he had to compel the Black Lion to save Keith and his falling clone from the jaws of space, losing them forever.

Trapped in an unmoving body, Shiro succumbed to the dreams of a simpler time, drawn so closely into the warmth of his past.

_ Takashi. _

“Shiro…”

_ It isn’t your time. _

“Please, wake up…”

A heart thrummed to life before him, but he stayed asleep, struggling between an eternity and the reality existing beyond his glass coffin.

Unaware that Keith stood by his side, a hand placed upon the only thing keeping the man he loved with them.


	2. Too Late

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Keith watches over an unconscious Shiro, he fears everything is too late. Saving the man he loves and telling him what his heart speaks.
> 
> Day 2 Sheith Angst Week Prompt, Too Late.

Too late.

They were too late.

No matter how much Keith tried to reassure himself, the fear laid his confidence to waste. The man that meant the world to him was still asleep, divided by a thin layer of glass, and another realm of consciousness completely.

Touched by an eerie peacefulness, Shiro slept so soundly, his hair caressed by the purest starlight.

Keith craved his touch, a hand on his shoulder, those all enveloping embraces that made him feel so safe and warm.

And maybe, just maybe…

He pursed his lips, trying not to scream at the injustice of it all.

Shiro had sacrificed so much already, been through so much pain, and began to find his purpose as a Paladin. After all, there was no telling how long he might have had left if…

His fingers clenched against the cruel coldness of the glass, but his Mother’s hand on his shoulder was warm.

Nevertheless, it was impossible for Keith not to think of Shiro, and  _ his _ touch. What he wouldn’t give to feel that comfort once more, grounding his greatest fears and anything to stop the worst case scenario repeating over and over inside his mind.

Driving him slowly insane.

He lost Shiro too many times before, always to the stars he loved so much, leaving him helplessly alone.

To Kerberos for a whole agonising year, to the fight against Zarkon only to  _ think _ he was getting him back.

Then the crushing blow of those terrible words within an existence of stars and space, his nightmare becoming a reality.

_ I died, Keith. _

His entire meaning crumbled before him, his heart wrenched from his chest, and the landscape a cold and empty wasteland.

Shiro had gone.

The Shiro he swore his love had been taken from him long before the clash upon the station.

A glimmer of hope gave birth when Shiro opened his eyes, cradled in his arms, clinging to the faintest spec of life.

If Shiro didn’t awaken, everything was too late.

Including telling  _ his everything _ that he loved him one last time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today’s prompt is Too Late, and this was the decisive one that made me want to form this Angst Week the way I wanted to.
> 
> Initially, the first thing that came to mind for Too Late was a saddened Keith at Shiro’s wedding to Curtis. But I honestly didn’t have the heart for that, and I wanted to give the story more of a flow rather than break it up.
> 
> So, I went for Keith fearing that he had lost Shiro to the coma, never able to tell him properly that he loved him.
> 
> Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. 💖


	3. Clone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In his darkest thoughts, Shiro reminisces about the clone that took his place, and tried to take the life of the man he loved.
> 
> And blamed himself completely for it.
> 
> Written for Sheith Angst Week 2019. Set during A Little Adventure. Day 3 prompt - Clone

Shiro had been so helpless back then.

He stood by and watched a man with his face take his place, drawing in the trust of his friends, and growing painfully close to Keith.

Every time that replica placed a hand upon the young Paladin’s shoulder, observing him with such affection, the trapped man felt his entire essence turn cold.

Unsure of  _ where _ that second Shiro even came from and  _ why _ , all Shiro knew was that he had a bad feeling about him. Whenever he sat inside the Black Lion, Shiro felt it swallowing him up.

No matter how conflicted this… other him’s energy made him feel, those disorientating headaches and uncertainty, the faint moments of cheerfulness with the others, there was no doubt that things were destined for disaster.

And his instincts proved right.

With horror, Shiro was trapped while Kuron wreaked havoc aboard the Castle of Lions. In the blink of an eyes, the clone turned, freeing Lotor and luring Keith away from his friends.

Before attacking the sole Paladin upon a haunting station in space.

Shiro thrust himself against the wall between life and death, shimmering with absolute malevolence with every pound of his fists.

Every scream echoed back at him, every pleading act of desperation, watching his clone attempting to kill Keith.

To murder him with kindness because he knew it was effective.

Inside Shiro’s thundering heart, roaring like a raging storm, he saw himself trying to kill the man he grew too fond of, with his very hands. The blame eroded his heart, cursing every fibre of affection he felt because the reality was killing Keith.

His love was going to kill the man he loved.

With the Black Lion drained of energy, Shiro could only watch through her empty eyes when Kuron plunged Keith’s own dagger downward, and those anguished screams vibrated across space to reach him.

Perhaps it was the Black Lion’s connection to Keith, forever strong, but Shiro felt a surge of emotion erupted through him, through the Lion, when those words were spoken.

He shared his clone’s spark of clarity among the suffocating darkness, and Shiro knew his clone suffered too - from being controlled by the whims of others, and by his very heart.

Those words revealed everything to him in a powerful moment he never thought possible.

From Keith.

_ Shiro, you’re my brother. _

_ I... _

The heart upon the monitor throbbed with life, and Keith cradled the healing pod, wishing with all his heart he could take Shiro’s place.

_ ‘Please,’  _ the Paladin begged to every cosmic entity in existence.  _ ‘Don’t take Shiro away from me again. _

_ Not again.’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 3 prompt, and it’s Clone time. I felt really bad for Kuron because in many ways, he felt as much a victim to Haggar’s machinations as a Shiro was under the Galra at the beginning.
> 
> Writing about how horrifying it must have been for Shiro to watch everything unfold inspired this chapter.
> 
> Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. 🖤❤️


	4. Lost in Space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith almost lost Shiro to the stars before.
> 
> He can’t lose him again.
> 
> Written for Sheith Angst Week, Day 4 prompt, Lost in Space.

From the outside, looking in, Keith remembered that painful search for Shiro.

The disbelief at that empty pilot’s seat, then the grief as the warmth faded with every passing day.

He searched, and searched, never wanting to give up.

After all, Shiro came back once before when everyone thought he was gone. Miracles were not a one shot deal.

He wanted to believe that Shiro was still out there, clinging to his beautiful life like the fighter he always was.

Keith hated how cold and empty the once infinite, breathtaking universe was without Shiro in it. Every star burned out, every planet just a rock in suspended animation, and even the captivating nebula, one of Keith’s favourite things about space, seemed… pointless.

A lonely ball of gas. That’s all.

Without Shiro, the space they both loved was nothing more than a cold, unfeeling velvet bereft of possibilities and hope.

Then the doubt crept in, his fellow Paladins trying to break the news that their Black Paladin was gone, leaving a void in his place. It had crippled Keith, at how readily Shiro was being replaced because no one could be the perfect man he was, no one.

Lance’s blunt voice. Allura’s kindly voice. Adam’s distant voice. All tangled together in a heartbreaking and frustrating mess, saying the same crushing words.

_ ‘Shiro’s gone. _

_ Shiro’s gone. _

_ Shiro’s gone.’ _

Then he saw him, and the universe burst into colour and life once more.

Shiro  _ was _ alive. He came back to him.

Or rather,  _ another _ Shiro had come to him, restored his faith.

But that relief was short lived when the truth had slowly revealed itself.

Hand pressed against the lad, Keith kept envisioning a universe without Shiro, and wishing with all his heart he had said those words sooner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 4 prompt, Lost in Space.
> 
> Fun fact, I was a dork and wrote a good chunk about Keith being lost in Space with the Paladins as a part of this chapter, then remembered I was setting it during A Little Adventure.
> 
> Oops. Had to take that bit out.
> 
> I’m limiting mentions of Pre-Kerberos because that deserves a chapter all on its own later, so yay.
> 
> Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. 💖


	5. Miscommunication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the longest time, Shiro thought Keith only saw him as a brotherly figure.
> 
> The truth was locked away behind fearful hearts, in case they both lost someone special.
> 
> Written for Sheith Angst Week, Day 5 prompt, Miscommunication.

For the longest time, Takashi Shirogane never entertained the possibility that Keith liked him beyond being a supportive influence in his life.

A rock, a shoulder to cry on when the loneliness got too much, and eventually, close friends, united by a love of galactic exploration and their own circumstances.

He should have surrendered to what his heart sang, that in time, he could learn to love again, to trust another wholeheartedly without fear during hardship.

During their journey as Paladins, Shiro slowly began to identify this feeling, and it scared him. He did not wish to impose on his friend, not when Keith made it clear how he felt in return.

_ ‘Shiro, you’re like a brother to me.’ _

_ ‘Shiro, you’re my brother.’ _

His brotherly figure, though not by blood, someone Keith depended on.

To impose on that trust, even by simple confession, tore Shiro’s heart asunder, closing everything away inside his heart. And what could he, the former Black Paladin, ever hope to give to the young man that meant everything to him?

Terrors in the night, screaming flashes of light, and a body and mind affected by his captivity under the Galra?

If Keith saw him as a brother, everything he felt was wrong. His feelings were not likely to be reciprocated.

Like his last relationship, Shiro could ruin  _everything, _lose his most valued bone.

Prepared to lock away his love, Shiro resigned himself to singledom forever, if it meant keeping Keith’s friendship at the least.

Then those delightfully haunting words he longed to hear, to confess himself had he not been so afraid.

Keith beat him to the punch, pouring his heart out, even if he expressed those empowering words to his clone, not to him.

_ ‘I love you.’ _

And Shiro’s entire existence opened up beneath him, swallowing him whole with every echoed sentiment running rings around his barricaded heart.

_ ‘I love you.’ _

_ ‘Shiro… you’re my… _

_ I love you.’ _

Alone, in the Quintessence Plain, Shiro cried his wounded heart out, striking out at the wall keeping him in, screaming for the Paladin in mortal danger.

...

The unconscious Shiro frowned in sleep, the vitals monitored on the healing pod screeching in his accelerated state.

Panicked, Keith banged a fist against the glass. “Shiro, please! Wake up! Fight!”

As Krolia and Allura shared worried looks, fearing the worst, Keith never moved from his rightful place by Shiro’s side.

_ ‘No. Not when I have so much to say… _

_ I have to tell him…’ _

To tell Shiro he too protected his heart with masqueraded words, to explain what he wanted to say all along, but was scared.

He didn’t want to lose Shiro, not when he was the only thing he had left.

“Shiro… You’re my everything.

I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 5 prompt, Miscommunication.
> 
> Oh, yes. I went there. Aka the “oh snap” chapter.
> 
> As soon as I saw the Miscommunication prompt, I knew I had to do this one because of how often the “brothers” line gets used to discredit the ship, and I feel is taken too literally.
> 
> Not only that, but it’s very common in narrative for the “family” lines to get used in a symbolic context to allude to romantic undertones, especially when it’s mlm and wlw stuff. It doesn’t always mean literal blood ties, but rather a close connection whether that’s platonic or something more.
> 
> Writing from Shiro’s perspective made the most sense since he made the assumption that Keith only saw him as a brother figure by taking the lines literally, when it’s clear Keith also hides how he feels because he’s afraid to lose Shiro.
> 
> Rejection fear is real, y’all.
> 
> Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. ❤️🖤


	6. Pre-Kerberos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Faced with the possibility of losing Shiro again, Keith reminisces of the Kerberos days, of losing Shiro, and his conflict with Adam.
> 
> And that he and Adam were not so different.
> 
> Written for Sheith Angst Week, Day prompt 6, Pre-Kerberos.

**[Pilot Error.]**

That red violent text bled across the screen, confirming the worst case scenario in every conceivable reality.

**[Pilot Error.]**

** _Shiro’s_ ** ** [Pilot Error.]**

There was no way, Keith told himself, there’s no way Shiro was gone.

Takashi Shirogane was the Garrison Goldenboy, a Legend, with flawless control in and out of the cockpit.

Shiro didn’t make mistakes, he didn’t screw up.

But that didn’t stop the cadet’s heart shattering into a thousand pieces at the terrifying shred of possibility.

Shiro, _his_ Shiro.

Gone.

And everyone at the Galaxy Garrison believed the lie.

Even Adam kept muttering the same mantra whenever Keith asked for his help, submitting to the spoon fed fallacy.

_ ‘Shiro’s gone. He was sick. I knew something like this would happen.’ _

Forever resigning his former fiance to past tense, Adam wanted to protect his own heart from breaking, but that did little to reassure a frightened teenager who lost the only thing in his life too.

Between two mourning souls, grieving for the missing man in their lives, the shouting matches began. Patronising snapbacks clashed with raw, angry frustration, leading them to lonely nights regretting their actions, but latching onto the emotion sizzling from a very short fuse.

The hurt, anger, and pain flowed freely between them, born of denial and reluctant acceptance to admit that Shiro’s disappearance was permanent. Adam understood that Keith was a lost and confused child in his eyes, but he despised his attempts to demonise him.

The breaking point had been Keith’s venomous barb, stinging inside Adam’s heart.

“You abandoned him. Maybe if you hadn’t, Shiro wouldn’t be out there!”

On hindsight, the remark was ludicrous, spurred by emotional intent to hurt him, but it had left its mark. Adam could no longer take the blame game and finger pointing of this  _ little brat  _ his ex had sacrificed everything for.

Regret bubbled away inside his chest, but that did not prevent the frustration being given life, not after all the sleepless nights alone, staring sorrowfully at the empty half of his bed.

“And  _ you _ can’t speak of abandon when you threw Shiro’s gift back in his face! He gave you this chance because he saw the potential in you, but for what? To get expelled?”

Before Keith had the chance to bite back, Adam delivered one last blow of his own, hating himself for how angry he had become, but unable to hold back.

“What would Shiro say if he saw you now? Rejecting everything he did for you?”

Eventually, calm descended upon the suite, but the sense of suffering still lingered. Hot chocolate was offered, and a place on his couch, but they both knew there was no turning back.

The last time they saw each other was the evening Keith left the Garrison. Adam had offered him a personal number, allowing him to be contacted at any time if needed.

Even in the midst of mourning, Adam wanted to help the cadet that had meant so much to Shiro.

Keith never called, dedicating his entire life to finding the man lost in the stars.

And as time went by, he regretted it.

Keith closed his eyes, trying not to remember the pain in Adam’s eyes when faced with the possibility that his loved one was a distant memory. Sadly, tragedy proved a stark reminder that he and Adam had more in common than he once thought.

They both loved Shiro, and lost him.

Staring down at Shiro’s sleeping form with the same profound anguish that existed behind that reminiscent sorrow, Keith pressed his forehead against the painfully cold glass, and sobbed.

“Please, Shiro… I can't lose you again…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 6 prompt, Pre-Kerberos.
> 
> Another Keith reflection piece, which I think mirrors one of my previous fics, [Denial and Acceptance](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16364189), quite nicely. If you want a little more focus on Adam, I touched on his thoughts and emotions through the Kerberos experience in that story too.
> 
> My desire was to write about the difficulties Keith faced following the news of Shiro’s disappearance and his denial causing him to lash out, especially at Adam. I wanted to portray the, as both people grieving and in a raw place emotionally, where you understand where both of them are coming from.
> 
> In the end, Keith realised he is now Adam in this situation, faced with the terrible possibility that the man he loves might not make it.
> 
> Kerberos is juicy for Angst potential.
> 
> Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. 🖤❤️


	7. Coma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Shiro’s condition deteriorates in his coma, Keith fears losing him and the chance to tell him what he longed to say.
> 
> Written for Sheith Angst Week, Day prompt 7, Coma.

_ ‘No. _

_ This can’t be happening. Please…’ _

Even when Allura explained with a heavy heart that the clone body was rejecting Shiro’s consciousness, that there was sadly nothing Altean technology and alchemy could do, Keith refused to accept this reality.

No reality was worth living in without Shiro.

Keith’s clenched fist struck the healing pod, his eyes screwed shut, trying to keep the tears in, but failing miserably. Glistening teardrops fell, his overwhelming adoration, but it never reached Shiro.

“Shiro, please,” the Paladin’s voice cracked, straining from the agony coursing through him. “Please, fight!”

His beautiful hero remained so still, causing Keith to choke back a sob.

“You can’t do this to me again…”

Leaning his scarred cheek against the cool window, separating him and the man that meant everything to him, Keith surrendered to his heartbreak, and began to weep.

An unsettling quiet descended upon the medical bay, a mother's hand trying to comfort her heartbroken child, a Princess’ sympathetic sorrow conveyed through the gentlest blue eyes, but the crying never stopped.

_ … _

_ ‘Go to him, Takashi.’ _

_ ‘...th.’ _

...

Suddenly, beneath Keith’s trembling fists, blinding light caressed him. He lifted his head to find the screens monitoring Shiro’s health fluctuated, the heart reacting strongly.

‘_Could it be….’_

Then the screen vanished in swift particles of turquoise light, the barrier between the two men gone.

When Shiro struggled with his first breath, shuddering from the shock of his new body, Keith couldn’t hold back any longer, his arm securing around the back of Shiro’s neck, his other hand resting upon the other man’s chest.

_ ‘Shiro. I feel your heartbeat. _

_ You are alive.’ _

Keith’s touch at the back of his neck, cradling his tired body after what felt like an eternity in another realm, was heavenly. He only realised then how much he yearned for physical contact, even a loved one’s voice, to keep him steady.

And Keith was there for him, exactly like the night he rescued him.

A soft cough, a ghost of life. “Keith? I was dreaming.”

Above him, his saviour stood, angelic in the light cast around Keith’s head. Disoriented by his recent ordeal, Shiro gazed at Keith, unaware of the world around him.

“Keith,” Shiro whispered, tender dark eyes absorbing the sight of the one who never gave up on him. “You saved me.”

Face softening, Keith’s loving gaze met Shiro, his heart quickening at the mercy given to them. He leaned in, star struck by the intensity of his love for another.

Before Keith knew it, they were separated not by life and death, nor a pane of glass, but by lips so teasingly close, their very breath warmed each other. In love gazed eyes, acknowledging only the other soul in the room, everything fell into insignificance, a blurred dream.

No more missed opportunities. No more hiding his heart when he had nearly lost Shiro too many times to count.

“We saved each other,” Keith replied softly.

And his lips fell upon Shiro, their hearts resonating through the kiss that summoned entire galaxies and milky ways in their own blissful universe. Any fear Keith felt evaporated with the knowledge that Shiro, with the little strength he had, pressed into the kiss.

The stars truly did align, reborn from cosmic stardust when others burnt out.

When they reluctantly broke their first kiss of many in the years to come, Keith remained transfixed by the perfection beneath him. Shiro himself was unable to tear his half laden eyes from his Starlight, a small smile tugging at his weary lips.

“About time…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day prompt 7, Coma.
> 
> The last chapter, taking us nicely to the end of A Little Aventure. And what other way could I end it than with two kissing? Because that’s totally how it happened? That pause was just an animation error, that’s all. 😳
> 
> And I’m a weak sap that can’t write Angst without comfort and a happy ending. Or some kind of hope.
> 
> Writing for this Angst challenge has been very interesting, especially since some elements were things I always wanted to write about. Having it as one story of sorts gave it much more of a flow, and worked better when writing it.
> 
> Thank you very much reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. 🖤❤️

**Author's Note:**

> First official story for a Prompt Week, and it’s a Sheith Angst piece. The plan is to have each chapter be for each day and prompt. The first one is for Ex-Lovers, so Adam gets a little attention here.
> 
> I decided to set the whole thing during Shiro’s coma in A Little Adventure, so various prompts can be tackled in a story format with the possibility of a happy ending.
> 
> The whole thing will be mutual pining because gosh darn, them mutual pining feels. And it’s Shiro and Keith being disasters, so of course there will be mutual pining.
> 
> Thank you very much for reading and I hope you enjoy it. 💖


End file.
